The names we use for each of the 12 months of the year have come down to us from the days of the ancient Romans. In early Roman times, March was the first month of the year, and February was the last. January didn’t become the first month of the year until 153 B.C.
March was named after Mars, the Roman god of war.
April comes from a word that meant “second,” since it was once the second month of the year.
May was named after Maia, an earth goddess.
June was named after Juno, the queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage.
July was named after Julius Caesar. Before Caesar’s time, it was called Quintilis, or the fifth month.
August was named after Augustus Caesar. Before that, it was called Sextilis, or the sixth month.
September means seventh month, October means eighth, November means ninth, and December means tenth.
January was named after Janus, the god of doors and
of beginnings and endings.
February was named after februa, a Roman festival held in the middle of that month.
